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What is a "hood"?

rktho

Troubadour
I've been reading The Hobbit and it inspired me to make a fanart of the dwarves as described in the book. I noticed they all have hoods. Hoods they can hang up on a hook, or take off and wave at their feet when they bow, and stuff like that. What are they? Does Tolkien mean a cowl? Or a cap like the ones the dwarves in the Snow White movie wear? And I thought hoods in my book were confusing.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
If I remember rightly a Hood and Cloak were two separate items. The Cloak protected the body, and the Hood protected the head and shoulders. Either could be used independently. Back in the day, I used to have a "Hunter's Hood" that was supposed to disguise the outline of the head and hide the face. It never worked for me but I was a lousy Hunter.
As for the right word, I think it depends on what you or the writer knows to be a hood, cowl etc. To me, a Cowl is something you'd fit over an engine and a Hood is a minor criminal...
 

Dark Squiggle

Troubadour
HMS Hood 1920-1941. Battlecruiser, pride of the Royal Navy. She was sunk by the Brismark in one of the most famous naval battles of all time.

You can still buy jackets with detachable hoods.

Cowls are for lawnmowers & airplanes, hoods are for cars.
 

SeverinR

Vala
Hoods are any of various head coverings that cover most of the head and some of the neck or shoulder. The shoulder covering is the mantle. So a cloak could have a hood and a mantle attached. A hood cold have a mantle or it could just cover the neck and head. Hoods have been associated with the criminal element (because it covers most of the head)
, thus the violent criminal is the "hood".
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Thus we have the famous line from the unknown noir novel, Unknown:
"The hood on the Hood wore a hood and glared at me from hooded eyes."
 
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